Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:93
And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, "It has been inspired to me," while nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says, "I will reveal [something] like what Allah revealed." And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], "Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The word concerning the explanation of His statement: وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ وَمَنْ قَالَ سَأُنْزِلُ مِثْلَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ (And who is more unjust than he who fabricates a lie against Allah or says, "It has been revealed to me," while nothing has been revealed to him, and he who says, "I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down").
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, means by His statement, "And who is more unjust than he who fabricates a lie against Allah" — and who makes a greater error in his statement and is more ignorant in his deed — "than he who fabricates a lie against Allah," that is to say: than he who concocts a lie against Allah, and claims against Him that He sent him as a prophet and dispatched him as a warner, while in his claim he is a falsifier and in his word a liar.
This is a rebuke from Allah to the polytheists (mushrikīn) of the Arabs, and a declaration by Him of their foolishness, with respect to the opposition of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Sarḥ and the Ḥanafī Musaylima against the Prophet of Allah ﷺ — in that the one laid claim to prophethood and the other claimed that he had brought the like of that with which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had come — and it is a denial by Him that His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ would concoct a lie against Him or claim what is false.
The exegetes differed concerning this.
Some of them said concerning it something similar to what we have said.
* Mention of who said that:
13555 - Al-Qāsim related to me, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His statement, "And who is more unjust than he who fabricates a lie against Allah or says, 'It has been revealed to me,' while nothing has been revealed to him," he said: This was revealed concerning Musaylima, the man of Banū ʿAdī ibn Ḥanīfa, with respect to the rhymed prose and the soothsaying that he used to produce — "and he who says, 'I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down,'" this was revealed concerning ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Sarḥ, the man of Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy, who used to write for the Prophet ﷺ. And it was so that when "Almighty, All-Wise" (ʿAzīzun Ḥakīm) was dictated to him, he wrote "Forgiving, Merciful" (Ghafūrun Raḥīm) and changed it; then he would read back to him "such and such," with what he had changed, and then the Prophet ﷺ would say: "Yes, it is the same." Then he apostatized from Islam and joined the Quraysh, and said to them: "'Almighty, All-Wise' was sent down to him, and I changed it, and then I read out what I had written, and then he would say: 'Yes, it is the same'!" Then he returned to Islam before the conquest of Mecca, when the Prophet ﷺ took lodging at Marr.
Some of them said: No, that was revealed concerning ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿd specifically.
* Mention of who said that:
13556 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And who is more unjust than he who fabricates a lie against Allah or says, 'It has been revealed to me,' while nothing has been revealed to him" up to His statement: "you shall undergo the punishment of humiliation." He said: This was revealed concerning ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Sarḥ. He had embraced Islam and used to write for the Prophet ﷺ. When "All-Hearing, All-Knowing" (Samīʿan ʿAlīman) was dictated to him, he wrote "All-Knowing, All-Wise" (ʿAlīman Ḥakīman), and when he said "All-Knowing, All-Wise," he wrote "All-Hearing, All-Knowing." Then he doubted and became an unbeliever, and said: "If it is revealed to Muḥammad, then it has also been revealed to me; and if Allah sends it down, then I have sent down the like of what Allah has sent down! Muḥammad said 'All-Hearing, All-Knowing,' and I said 'All-Knowing, All-Wise'!" Then he joined the polytheists and denounced ʿAmmār and Jubayr to Ibn al-Ḥaḍramī, or to Banū ʿAbd al-Dār. They seized them and they were tortured until they became unbelievers, and ʿAmmār's ear was cut off on that day. ʿAmmār went to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him of what had befallen him and of the unbelief he had given them, and the Prophet ﷺ refused to accept him as a friend. Then Allah revealed concerning the affair of Ibn Abī Sarḥ and ʿAmmār and his companions: مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِهِ إِلا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالإِيمَانِ وَلَكِنْ مَنْ شَرَحَ بِالْكُفْرِ صَدْرًا [Sūrat al-Naḥl: 106] (Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief — except him who is coerced while his heart is at rest in faith — but he who opens his breast to unbelief…). The one who was coerced, that is ʿAmmār and his companions, and the one who opened his breast to unbelief, that is Ibn Abī Sarḥ.
Others said: No, the one who said "It has been revealed to me," while nothing had been revealed to him, is Musaylima the Liar.
* Mention of who said that:
13557 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement, "or says, 'It has been revealed to me,' while nothing has been revealed to him, and he who says, 'I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down,'" it has been related to us that this verse was revealed concerning Musaylima. It has been related to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "I saw in my sleep as if there were two golden bracelets on my hands, and they weighed heavily upon me and disturbed me. Then it was revealed to me that I should blow upon them, and I blew upon them and they flew away. I interpreted them in my sleep as the two liars between whom I find myself: the liar of al-Yamāma, Musaylima, and the liar of Ṣanʿāʾ, al-ʿAnsī." This latter was called "al-Aswad."
13558 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: "It has been revealed to me, while nothing has been revealed to him," he said: This was revealed concerning Musaylima.
13559 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda — and he added to it: and al-Zuhrī informed me that the Prophet ﷺ said: "While I was sleeping, I saw on my hands two golden bracelets, and that weighed heavily upon me. Then it was revealed to me that I should blow upon them, and I blew upon them and they flew away. I interpreted that as the liar of al-Yamāma and the liar of Ṣanʿāʾ, al-ʿAnsī."
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the most correct of the statements concerning this, in my judgment, is that one says: Allah said: "And who is more unjust than he who fabricates a lie against Allah or says, 'It has been revealed to me,' while nothing has been revealed to him." There is no disagreement among the scholars of the community that Ibn Abī Sarḥ was among those who said: "I have said the like of what Muḥammad has said," and that he apostatized from his Islam and joined the polytheists, so that by that statement of his he was, without doubt, a fabricator of a lie. Likewise, there is no dispute among all of them that Musaylima and al-ʿAnsī, the two liars, claimed a lie against Allah: that He had sent them as two prophets, and each of the two said that Allah had revealed to him, while he was a liar in his statement. When that is so, then under this verse falls everyone who fabricated a lie against Allah and said, in that time or in another time: "Allah has revealed to me," while he is a liar in his statement and Allah has revealed nothing to him. As for the revelation: it is possible that it was sent down on account of some of them, and it is possible that it was sent down on account of all of them, and it is possible that by it all the polytheists of the Arabs were intended — since among them were those who said that, and they did not disapprove of it. Allah blamed them for that and threatened them with punishment for failing to disapprove of it, and along with that, that they — besides their failure to disapprove of it — branded His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ a liar, denied his prophethood, and rejected the signs of the Book of Allah and His revelation. Therefore He, exalted is His praise, said to them: "And who is more unjust than he who has claimed prophethood against Me while he lied," and said: "It has been revealed to me," while nothing had been revealed to him, and who along with that says: مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى بَشَرٍ مِنْ شَيْءٍ (Allah has not sent down anything to any human being) — thus he refutes his own statement with his statement, and belies that which he verifies, and denies what he affirms. When the perceptive, intelligent person reflects on that, he knows that the one who does that is bereft of his reason.
And it has been related from Ibn ʿAbbās that he used to say, concerning His statement, "and he who says, 'I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down,'" what follows:
3560 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement, "and he who says, 'I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down,'" he said: He claimed that, if he wished, he could say the like of it — that is to say: poetry.
It is as though Ibn ʿAbbās, in this explanation of his, according to what he has explained, directs the meaning of the statement of the one who says, "I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down," toward: "I will send down the like of what Allah has said in poetry." And thus al-Suddī explained it, and we have already mentioned the narration from him earlier.
The word concerning the explanation of His statement: وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلائِكَةُ بَاسِطُو أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوا أَنْفُسَكُمُ (And if you would but see when the unjust are in the throes of death and the angels stretch out their hands, "Give up your souls").
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: And if you would but see, O Muḥammad, when death with its throes overwhelms them — those unjust ones who equate their Lord with the idols and associate-partners, and who say مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى بَشَرٍ مِنْ شَيْءٍ (Allah has not sent down anything to any human being), and who fabricate a lie against Allah, claiming that Allah has revealed to him while nothing has been revealed to him, and who say سَأُنْزِلُ مِثْلَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ (I will send down the like of what Allah has sent down) — so that you behold them with your own eyes while the throes of death have overtaken them, and the command of Allah has descended upon them, and the time of the end of their lifespan has arrived, and the angels stretch out their hands and strike their faces and their backs, as He, exalted is His praise, said: فَكَيْفَ إِذَا تَوَفَّتْهُمُ الْمَلائِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَارَهُمْ * ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمُ اتَّبَعُوا مَا أَسْخَطَ اللَّهَ وَكَرِهُوا رِضْوَانَهُ [Sūrat Muḥammad: 27, 28] (But how will it be when the angels take them away, striking their faces and their backs? That is because they followed what angered Allah and abhorred His good pleasure). They say to them: Give up your souls.
And "al-ghamarāt" is the plural of "ghamra," and the "ghamra" of a thing is the abundant and greatest part of it. Its origin is that which floods over and covers things. To that belongs the saying of the poet:
And does anything save steadfastness in battle, or flight, deliver a man from the overwhelming floods?
And it has been related from Ibn ʿAbbās concerning this what follows:
13561 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, saying: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning His statement, "And if you would but see when the unjust are in the throes of death (ghamarāt al-mawt)," he said: the agonies of death (sakarāt al-mawt).
13562 - It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say, saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement, "in the throes of death (ghamarāt al-mawt)," he means the agonies of death.
And as for the "stretching out of the hands by the angels," that is the extending of them.
Then the exegetes differed concerning the reason for the stretching out of their hands at that.
Some of them said something similar to what we have said concerning it.
* Mention of who said that:
13563 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement, "And if you would but see when the unjust are in the throes of death and the angels stretch out their hands," he said: This is at death, and "the stretching out" is the striking: they strike their faces and their backs.
13564 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement, "And if you would but see when the unjust are in the throes of death and the angels stretch out their hands," he says: "the angels stretch out their hands," they strike their faces and their backs — while the unjust are in the throes of death and the angel of death takes them away.
13565 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and the angels stretch out their hands," they strike them.
Others said: No, the stretching out of their hands is with the punishment.
* Mention of who said that:
13566 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Khālid al-Aḥmar related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: "and the angels stretch out their hands," he said: with the punishment.
13567 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿUyayna, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ: "and the angels stretch out their hands," with the punishment.
And some of the grammarians of Kūfa explained that in the meaning: they stretch out their hands to drive out their souls.
And if someone were to say: What is the meaning of His statement "Give up your souls," when the souls of the children of Adam are driven out from the bodies of their possessors only by the Lord of the Worlds? How then are these unbelievers addressed and commanded, in the state of death, to give up their souls? If that is so, then it would be necessary that the children of Adam themselves take away the souls from their bodies!
To that it is answered: The meaning of that is other than that to which you have gone. It is only a command from Allah by the mouth of His messengers who take the spirits of these people out of their bodies, that they should hand over to Him that which their Lord had caused to dwell therein of spirits, and deliver it to His messengers who take them away.
The word concerning the explanation of His statement: الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنْتُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِهِ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ (93) (This day you shall receive the punishment of humiliation, because of what you used to say against Allah other than the truth, and because you used to turn away arrogantly from His signs (93)).
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from Allah, exalted is His praise, about what the messengers of Allah who take the spirits of these unbelievers say to them. He reports about them that they say to their bodies and to their companions: أَخْرِجُوا أَنْفُسَكُمُ (Give up your souls), to the wrath of Allah and His curse, for you are this day requited for your unbelief in Allah, your uttering of falsehood against Him, your claim that Allah revealed to you while He revealed nothing to you, your denial that Allah sent down anything to any human being, and your arrogance against submitting to the command of Allah and the command of His Messenger and conforming to obedience to Him — "the punishment of humiliation," and that is the punishment of Hell (jahannam) which humiliates and debases them, until they perceive the lowliness and humiliation of themselves, as:
13568 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: As for "the punishment of humiliation," that is that which humiliates them.
13569 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: "This day you shall receive the punishment of humiliation," he said: the punishment of humiliation, in the Hereafter, بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (because of what you used to do).
The Arabs, when they intend by "al-hūn" the meaning of "al-hawān" (humiliation), place a ḍamma on the "hāʾ," and when they intend by it gentleness, ease, and lightness of burden, they place a fatḥa on the "hāʾ." Thus they said: "He is light of burden (hawn al-maʾūna)." To that belongs the statement of Allah: الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الأَرْضِ هَوْنًا [Sūrat al-Furqān: 63] (Those who walk upon the earth in gentleness), that is to say: with gentleness, calm, and dignity. To that also belongs the statement of Jandal ibn al-Muthannā al-Ṭuhawī:
And the breaking of days that have broken his strength, gently, and every old man has laid down his glory.
To that also belongs the statement of another:
Gently now, you two! Time does not bring back what has passed. Do not perish from grief in the track of him who has died.
He means: be calm. And the fatḥa on the "hāʾ" therein has been related in the meaning of "al-hawān" (humiliation), and they cited for that the verse of ʿĀmir ibn Juwayn:
He humiliates the souls, and the humiliation of the souls in time of need is, for them, more exalted.
But what is well known from their speech is the ḍamma on the "hāʾ" of it, when it has the meaning of humiliation and debasement, as Dhū al-Iṣbaʿ al-ʿAdwānī said:
Go away from me! My mother is no shepherdess who tends the pregnant she-camels, and I do not shut my eyes to humiliation (al-hūn).
He means: to humiliation. And when it has the meaning of gentleness, then with the fatḥa of it.
